Fort Collins - Team RiceCracker

For the first time ever, we run a race for a second time.

Race Report: Colorado Marathon

It was a little strange to run the same exact race again. We have run courses we were familiar with. We have run races that have segments of the course that we had run before. To run the same exact race over again was something new. While I did not really remember the course, per se, I did have various sections or places I recalled.

The first 18 miles of the course are a gentle downhill cruise through the Poudre Canyon. This section is asphalt and entirely exposed, aside from the shadows of the canyon. At about mile 18, you enter the edge of town and turn onto a concrete running path. This section has a mild amount of tree cover and is pretty much pancake flat.

What stands out most, we didn’t judge the weather correctly. Busses take you to the start of the race and that requires about 45 minutes of standing around. That was a little chilly (35℉), but not too awful. What we misjudged was the fact that the weather never really warmed up. That day was overcast and only reached 50℉ by the time we crossed the finish line. To make matters worse, there was a fairly consistent and strong headwind, dropping the temperature further. Neither of us froze but we would have booth been a lot happier with just a tad more weather protection.

Over the years, we have grown more and more fond of trail races. Our last marathon was Napa Valley (asphalt) and my last race was the Desert Rats 50K (trail). This race really affirmed for us, road races are pretty much in the rearview mirror. The harder surface really bangs us up. The concrete section, in particular, just hammers on you. It was an interesting experience to run the race again, and it makes us wonder if some other races are worth a re-run. In particular, running the Aspen Backcountry in the opposite direction is on the schedule for 2024.